Scuffle Ends With Fatal Shooting By City Police

Man Allegedly Grabbed South Chicago Cop's Gun

July 07, 1998|By Doug Irving, Tribune Staff Writer.

Chicago police fatally shot a man on the Southeast Side early Monday after he allegedly grabbed a gun from an officer and pointed it at him.

The man, whom police would not identify Monday, was shot twice in the chest after he grabbed an officer's revolver during a scuffle involving police who had been called to the area by neighbors who said he was lying on a homeowner's lawn.

Preliminary findings determined the use of force was justified as self-defense and that the officers had followed department policy and state law.

The Office of Professional Standards will continue to investigate the shooting, coordinator John Buchanan said.

Neighbors called police at about 7 a.m. to report a suspicious man in front of a small brick house in the 9000 block of South Paxton Avenue, Police Department spokesman Pat Camden said.

A neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said the man was lying on the lawn and claiming he was on his own property, although it was not his house.

Two South Chicago District police officers arrived and asked the man to leave. He verbally abused them, Camden said, prompting the officers to call for assistance. A third officer arrived shortly.

The neighbor said the man then attempted to strike an officer, prompting a scuffle and causing the man to fall into a bush.

The man allegedly pulled a .38-caliber revolver from one of the officer's belt holsters as the officers were struggling to subdue him, Camden said.

He then allegedly pointed the revolver at one of the officers.

Police said the officer's partner ordered him to drop the gun and then fired a shot, striking the man in the chest. The man then allegedly pointed the gun at the property owner, and the officer fired again.

The Police Department convened a round-table meeting Monday that determined the officers were justified in shooting the man.